Another winner for Hawkins. I enjoyed the alternating timelines and the characters. Well done and intriguing read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60784641

"She had forgotten, as we all do, that beautiful things can contain their own darkness.”

The Villa is Rachel Hawkins' newest novel, set mostly in a small, medieval town in Italy. More aptly, the story takes place in the gorgeous Villa Aestas, alternating
between two timelines, past (1974) and present (2023). The two main characters, Mari (1974) and Emily (2023), lived in two different times, yet lived remarkably similar
life circumstances. Full of betrayal, intrigue, and mystery, this Hawkins novel is sure to keep some fans on the edges of their seats.

I couldn't put this one down, but I will allow that is more due to the easy flow of the writing and my despise of the characters and not due to the strength of the plot. I found the plot to be interesting but predictable and saw the ending coming for each character from a mile away. The book overall wasn't a read that will leave many readers shocked or thinking about the ending after they've finished, but it was enjoyable for its medium-pace and interestingly despicable characters.

I loved to hate all the characters that the author seems to have wanted us to hate—Chess, Matt, Pierce. I didn't feel much for Mari, Emily, or Lana, unfortunately. They almost seemed to be side-characters in their own stories. I wish we could have seen more character development from them. I believe the author tried to develop them a certain way (no spoilers), but the attempt fell a little flat for me.

Overall, I recommend this novel to fans of engaging, easy-to-read, soft thrillers.

Thank you to St. Martin's Publishing Group for an ARC. This review was written honestly in exchange for an advanced read. #NetGalley #TheVilla

The Villa is about Emily and Chess who are best friends since childhood and take a trip to Italy. Emily believes the trip will help her escape from a writer's block while going through a divorce. The story goes between the present and the 1970's in which a famous murder happens at the same Villa they are staying at. We get a chance to find out what happened along with Emily while secrets start to come undone.

I really liked the writing style of this book and loved the idea of the story. However, I only give this book 3.5 stars due to the fact that I found the plot twists to be too obvious. I was able to guess most of the twists before they happened. I also also found myself getting lost with the storyline at times.

Overall I thought that this book was well written and it did keep me interested for most of the book. I definitely recommend giving this book a try and see if you enjoy it more than I did.

Thanks to NetGalley and Saint Martins Press for giving me the chance to read this book before it is released in 2023!

The Villa is a delicious story or two stories of friends; Chess and Em in one and Mari and Lara in the other. Chess and Em are current day, both writers the decide to spend a summer at The Villa in Orvieto Italy. Mari and Lara are stepsisters who in 1974, spend the summer at The Villa. Both stories and characters are intense, artists in some way, and both seek some sort of vengeance. This book is so good, you'll not be able to close until the end, there is rage, there is love and there is the end!. Thank you #NetGalley#StMartinsPress#TheVilla.

This is not just another mystery/thriller. Told between dual timelines Rachel Hawkins explores the blessings and the pitfalls of relationships, whether they be friends, lovers, or siblings. Throw in the astounding beauty of Italy, the grit of 70s rock and roll, a horror novel, and a few twists and turns and you have a gripping mystery that kept me reading non-stop to find out WHO DID IT? Do not worry as you will have all of your questions answered. And then some.

Thank you for the ARC, Rachel Hawkins and Netgalley! I will definitely be recommending this book come January 2023!

This is my first book by Rachel Hawkins and I absolutely fell in love with her style of writing. I loved the 2 different povs one from 1974 and the other in current time. The way both povs seemed to intertwine together but still tell two different stories. It had me dissecting both stories trying to guess what was going to happen next. Highly do recommend.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s press, and Rachel Hawkins for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

*Thank you to St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for the ARC*

Wow, my recommendation is don’t try and finish The Villa at 2 am because you absolutely will get sucked in and it will simultaneously give you the creeps!

The premise of the book centers on several characters but the main setting is Villa Aestas formerly Villa Rosato, where a murder took place back in the 70s. Here stepsisters Mari and Lara are supposed to be muses for their male counterparts to write an album, instead they each strike success as writers in their own sense, but not before a life is claimed to the adage of drugs, sex, and rock & roll.

A parallel story is also told in the present when best friends Emily and Chess are visiting said “murder mansion” to write their prospective books. Little did they know how the Villa and its dark past would have its grip on their own lives.

Truthfully it’s hard to break The Villa down succinctly since there’s so many characters involved. There’s lots of overlapping stories and themes, from past to present, real and written, lyrics, articles, and even podcasts. It gives a Daisy Jones/VH1 THS vibe with the different cuts of media interspersed throughout. It can get a little confusing at times but there’s enough overlap for everything to fall right back into place.

Although there’s lots of foreshadowing due to the parallel timeline, overall The Villa was a quick read, and engaging enough to keep me on my toes. 4.5/5 stars because the build up was greater than the end, which shows how well Hawkins can build that eerie, foreboding feeling. The Villa publishes in January ‘23 and I have no doubt it’ll be a hit and can totally see it made into a tv series! 🍿

Spoilerish CW: drug use, infant death, chronic illness, fade to black MMF scene

Wow. I was not expecting to get sucked in so fast but I stayed up all night reading this in one sitting. Highly recommend if you're a fan of Ruth Ware or Tana French. Two friends take a summer holiday to an Italian villa with a tragic past and the events that unfold begin to mirror their lives and the house's sordid past. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Once you start reading a Hawkins novel, you can't stop and her latest is no exception. It's a gothic tale of suspense, intrigue, and the struggle between love and friendship. There's a two storyline plot, one occurring in 1974 juxtaposed with the story in the present.
The only minor criticism I harbor is that the ending might have been too predictable and not as spine-chilling as I expected. Fun and daunting read!

This book was a quick read! I loved how they twisted the mystery of the murder in the house into the general plot about the two friends vacationing to Italy. I do wish the mystery of the house was detailed further to provide a more eerie feel. I did not see the murder of Matt happening - I was sure the murder the summary hinted at would have been Chess!

I read this book in just a few sittings. It's dishy and binge-worthy, the kind of soapy whodunnit that goes perfectly with sunshine and the sparkle of water. I loved the dual timeline and the fast pace. Hawkins doesn't drag the story out, but executes the plot with skill and efficiency. The ending felt a bit unfinished to me, but the ride is well worth it!

Thrilling plot twists at every chapter! This had an ending I never saw coming!

Rachel Hawkins created such a layered narrative it has you second guessing fact and fiction. Well written and masterfully presented, this is a book that will give you chills and thrills.

Perfect for lovers of Daisy Jones and the Six and fans of Ruth Ware.

This was an interesting one. At first, I had a hard time getting into it as I wasn't sure how I felt about the main character. Additionally, I had a difficult time with the time period switches because they didn't seem very smooth. However once I got a further into the book - I was hooked!

I found the storyline unique and loved how the author tied together the plot between the two storylines. I read a lot of thriller/suspense books and I'm usually able to see the twists/turns ahead. In this book, I thought I knew what was happening but was pleasantly surprised at the end with a final twist.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it! I'd probably give this a 3.5/5

There are two timelines that we learn about in The Villa. The first timeline takes place in 1974 and follows a girl named Mari who goes to the Villa with her boyfriend Pierce, her sister Lara, a rock-star named Noel and his drug-dealer Johnny. The purpose of the trip is for Noel and Pierce to collaborate and create music together. However, something goes wrong and the trip ends in a brutal murder and someone going to jail. The current timeline follows two writers and childhood bestfriends: Emily and Chess taking a trip to the Villa to hopefully provide inspiration for their writing in order to get out of their writing slump. However, Emily starts to question everything she thinks she knows about her life. Is it the house’s eerie energy or is something actually going on?

My thoughts:
This book was definitely suspenseful and I couldn’t read fast enough because I HAD to know what happened! Unfortunately the big reveals at the end weren’t satisfying enough for me. I was kind of like… oh, that’s it? Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book but was hoping for something more mind-blowing at the end. I will say, I originally rated it 3 stars because I was so confused by the ending until I went back on my NetGalley shelf and discovered that the epub that I downloaded on my ereader didn’t include the second half of chapter 14, once I read that, everything made sense! This obviously won’t be a problem once the book is published but just thought I’d mention it here incase anyone else is experiencing the same thing. Thankyou again St Martin’s Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review!! Publication is January 3rd, 2023

A new gothic suspense novel from the author of the Wife Upstairs! This one is a take on the creation of the novel Frankenstein - Mari is the daughter of two famous authors and ran away with budding musician, Pierce Sheldon in the early 1970s. They end up one summer at an Italian villa with Mari's stepsister, Lara, and famous musician Noel Gordon. Unfortunately, Pierce ends up dead at the end of summer, while Mari ends up writing a famous novel, Lilith Rising. In present day, Emily is struggling with writing the next book in her cozy mystery series when her best friend, self-help guru Chess, invites her to a summer at the same villa where this tragedy occurs.

Was this novel super suspenseful? No. Do I care? NO! Because this book was soooo good. It had gothic vibes for sure but I found myself not even caring about the mystery because I was just enjoying it so much. Did I think I had predicted the twist? Yes, but I only got it half right. Plus there was an even bigger twist at the very end!

This is one of those books I will be sad I can't read again for the first time. The parallels to the life of Mary Shelley are great and I love the way they were interpreted into more modern day. This is definitely one to read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my advanced copy! Definitely will be buying this one when it comes out!

Ahhh Rachel Hawkins did it again. I love everything by her and this one did not disappoint! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Could not put this one down!

Had my head spinning in many directions, but overall enjoyable. This is my first book by Hawkins, so perhaps I was just slow to acclimate to her writing style.

We have the main story of long time friends, Emily and Chess. Both successful authors whose friendship have had a bit of a start stop due to their own personal struggles and Oprah level fame. They decide to spend the summer together in an Italian villa to restart their friendship and inspire their writing. The villa chosen is widely known as The Murder House where a gruesome murder involving rock stars occurred in the 70’s. That’s when the subjects of said murder enter the story via diary-like entries by young author Mari recounting the events leading up to the murder. We also have excepts of her book, current magazine articles, music lyrics by her stepsister, and even a podcast splashed in. Not to say this didn’t work as a book, it just felt busy. I was not a fan of the ending, but will not say why to prevent spoilers, just that I found the fate of one of the rockstars excessively cruel and under developed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had really high hopes for this book, but unfortunately I felt that it fell a little flat compared to her others. There was a little too much twist for my liking, and I felt like I kept spinning in circles trying to keep up -- I am aware that reading this on a kindle could've had very different formatting than a book version. The plot was intriguing, but I just felt like it missed the mark here.

3.5 stars. It was good, but not great.

Thank you to Netgalley & Rachel Hawkins for sending me an Advance Readers Copy of The Villa in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story of friendship, a murder, and rock & roll. A dual narrative, going between the past and present - the story of Aestas Villa is known by all.

When best friend and self help guru Chess books an Italian Getaway, Emily McCrae, cozy novelist is invited along. Emily researches and finds out that the Villa was the scene of a murder. Chess and Em find themselves connecting to this house and finding a higher meaning - co-writing a book.

This one wasn't my favorite. It's definitely a slow burn mystery/thriller with a touch of fictional memoir. I think I needed more twists and turns, but it wasn't the worst I've read either. In true Rachel Hawkins fashion, I couldn't guess what was going on. I would recommend, however, to those I know who love this genre.

I received this book from NetGalley.

This is a 3.5 star book for me. I loved where the story was going, but I feel like the conclusion to both timelines sort of fell flat in the end for me. I found the present day one fairly predictable, and the past one exciting until you find out what happened in the end. I truly did enjoy the read throughout most of the book though! It had beautiful imagery of the villa in Italy. Learning about the history and the characters of Mari and Lara was fun. I desperately want to read Lilith Rising and listen to Aestas now, even though they do not exist haha.